Friday, June 24, 2005

Fellow Travelers

Admittedly, most of the people contributing "Euros for the insurgency" are certifiable kooks, a familiar blend of current/former radicals who previously supported various European communist parties, urban terrorist groups (such as Italy's Red Brigades and Germany's Red Army Faction) and fringe environmental parties. They are united in their virulent anti-Americanism, and gladly contribute to anyone--or any cause--battling the United States.

But there's a larger issue at work here. A sizeable number of Europeans--who aren't writing checks to the jihadists--seem convinced that we can somehow appease the Islamofacists. These are the same folks who offered unyielding support for Yasser Arafat, denounce Israel as racist, war-mongering state, and appealed for "peaceful solutions" in the wake of 9-11. More recently, this mindset has led to the election a pacifist government in Spain (in the wake of a devastating, Al Qaida-sponsored terrorist attack), and misguided efforts to negotiate an end to Iran's nuclear program. They conveniently ignore the obvious reality: the hatred of the Islamofacists extends to all westerners, and a terrorist victory in Iraq will open the door the next phase of the war, fought largely on European and American soil.

To their credit, some Europeans "get it," namely the Poles, Czechs, Bulgarians and others who lived under dictatorships for much of the last century, and (of course) stalwart allies like Great Britain and Italy. But far too many Europeans still don't get it, including those radicals giving money to a "cause" that may eventually consume them.